The English department at Rice University, to my knowledge the only American university established by the murder of its benefactor (true story, actually) will next semester offer "Scandinavian Fantasy Worlds: Old Norse Sagas and Skyrim." That's right. You get to play Skyrim for college credit. If you're enrolled at Rice, which is a rather selective institution.

The whole thing is tied into northern European literature, of course. "We'll consider the political saga of Skyrim, with its emphasis on Empire and rebellion, as pursuits made possible by way of Scandinavia in order to think through what Scandinavian fantasy worlds are really about and why they resonate with contemporary Anglo-American culture," says the course description.

If you enroll, watch out for some cat wanting you to test out spells on the undead. No word yet on an exchange program with Winterhold.